Last year I bought a couple cherry plum trees-okpata, and splata. Both set fruit and we were very happy with the fruit, and then along came the ants with their aphids. The one tree started curling up and withering away. I tried every thing I could think of. I washed the trees almost daily to get rid of the ants and their aphids, I wrapped fly sticky strips around the trunks of the trees and the ants just crawled under the sticky strips or crawled over the stuck bodies of their friends. I wrapped duck tape around so it was sticky side up--same thing. I put ant traps out,, didn't help. I poured vinegar around the trees--killed the grass, never stopped the ants. I put diatomaous (sp?) earth around the trees. I made sure what ever I poured around the tree was far enough away that it would not effect the tree. I don't think it slowed the ants down much. I continued washing the trees, the ants kept coming.. one tree had enough and withered up and died even though I fertilized it and watered it diligently. I bought a Pembina plum to replace the one that died, and now the ants / aphids are in that one too. I put baking soda and icing sugar around the trees, again killed the grass, didn't stop the ants and aphids I burned every ant nest I could find, and they still keep coming... These are just common small black ants ( have seen the odd black and red one from time to time) I have small kids and pets, so don't want to poison them too with rough stuff. Wondered if I could use rotenone.... Would appreciate any ideas.. thanks
I am astonished at the onslaught your trees have suffered - I never have heard of such unrelenting attack by ants. I think you are on the right track to stop the ants climbing up the tree trunks by banding them with something sticky but, obviously, neither fly sticky strips nor duct tape are sticky enough. Why don't you try a product like Tanglefoot? It is important not to apply such a product directly to the trunk but to wrap it tightly first with something (I use strips of black plastic) before glopping on the gooey paste. If the ants clog the band, you may need to replace it or make it wider. If the ants crawl underneath, you'll have to put a barrier under the plastic (I use crafters' fiberfill). On the whole, I find ants are fairly quick learners so they will hopefully stop challenging your barrier. I'm curious what area of BC you live in? Where I live in Nanoose Bay, ants of all sorts are crazy this year, especially thatching ants, but at least they don't climb into the trees. Good luck.
I again today went out and took a pressure nozzle and washed the aphids off my poor tree( cherry Plum) and the Pembina plum next to it seems at this moment to be ant/ aphid free, although the cherry plum has had a lot more blossoms and even smells sweeter than the Pembina did.. don't know if that has anything to do with it why the ants are attracted to it more than the regular plum. I was talking to a couple local ladies (we are east of Williams lake.) and one recommended wrapping the tree in tin foil and putting a heavy layer of Vaseline all over the aluminum foil. The other lady recommended tanglefoot- like recommended here-- I had never heard of it that I can recall. So until I get to town and get some tanglefoot, I am trying the tin foil --Vaseline trick. I have never had ant / aphid problems like I have had the last 2 years--ever... I am sure ants are good for something-- but I am so sick of ants, I surely do not know what they are good for other than chicken fodder...thanks for the replies...
further problems,,,, I found that last night the Vaseline got stiff and cold during the cool of the night and so lost some of its stickiness and the ants could walk over the Vaseline and not get stuck,,, does tangle foot solidify in the cold of the night so ants can walk right over it and not get stuck??
Tanglefoot works well for months at any temperature, as long as debris falling on it doesn't make a passable trail. You also have to watch for ants' finding a way under the tanglefoot band where the bark is rough.
I have been very pleased with Tanglefoot, having used it for many years to control root weevil damage on rhododendron leaves. It is a pain to work with when you have to wrap the trunk (or trunks) close to the ground but it is effective. I usually replace the bands in May and find that Tanglefoot is just as sticky as when I applied it the previous year. But, as Vitog says, it tends to become covered with debris over time. One other thing to watch for is climbing insects gaining access to the crown of the plants you want to protect by walking over from other plants wherever their leaves and branches overlap.
Further to Margot's comment about leaves and branches overlapping, you also have to watch out for contacts between branches/leaves of the plant being protected and any structures, such as fences, decks, or support posts. If there is a physical route of any kind from the ground to the plant, ants will find it. This makes Tanglefoot useless for plants growing close to a fence or wall.
hello.. Our internet has been down for several days, so just now back online and trying to get caught up.. What kind of "bandage" do you need to smear tanglefoot onto? will aluminum foil or wax paper wrapped around the tree and taped in place, and smeared with tangle foot work? thanks..
I use black electrical plastic (stretchable) tape on small trees with smooth bark. For the older trees with rough bark, the Tanglefoot is applied directly to the bark, since no wrap that I can think of would be effective. The free end of the plastic tape will come loose eventually as the tree grows during the summer; so, I wrap a turn or two of thin wire around the end of the tape. The ends of the wire are just twisted together lightly and will accommodate some expansion of the tree trunk before separating. However, any waterproof wrapping material will work if it can be pressed against the tree bark tightly enough to keep ants from going under it. Note that the band of Tanglefoot does not have to be as wide as specified on the package. I usually only apply a band about one inch (2.5 cm) wide. A wider band will probably be effective for a longer time, but the narrow band works well as long as you check it every week or so to touch up any debris paths that cross the Tanglefoot.
Well, after tanglefooting the tree, and putting rotenone around the tree, and not seeing any ants on the tree for several days I was feeling pretty smug.. I was still going out and washing the aphids off like every day, but no ants.. Anyways, today a family member noticed that once again there was ants on the tree even with the tangle foot and rotenone around the base of the tree.. I took a look around and it only took a minute or two to figure out how they were getting onto the tree.. We had had some high winds, so a family member drove a stake in the ground outside the rotenone ring, about 3 feet away from the tree, and tied some string to the tree and the stake to stabilize the tree.. The ants somehow had figured out that they could not crawl up the base of the tree like they had been doing without dying in rotenone and tanglefoot, -and they were crawling up the stake and walking the string to the tree.. I was very upset at the ants, but had to admire that these "buggers' have to have some sort of intelligence that we humans think only we humans and some of Gods creatures have exclusive intelligence--reasoning- if you will.. I am convinced these bugs had to have figured out some how that crawling up the tree was a death wish, and looked for an alternative route. So once again -- out came the tanglefoot, and now the stake is smeared with it... and see if the little "buggers" can figure a way around that one....
It sounds like you are on your way to establishing control of those little varmints. I had a similar challenge with a stake and string providing back door access for weevils. Your comment that the ants have figured out that 'crawling up the tree was a death wish' is interesting. On all the rhodos I have banded with Tanglefoot, I have never seen any weevils actually stuck in the paste. They seem to realize that to proceed up the trunk would be deadly. That in mind, I am also finding that weevils are not trying to cross last year's bands even though they're full of debris.
As mentioned above, if there is any physical path to a plant that the ants like, they will find it. However, that capability doesn't involve any real intelligence. An ant colony just naturally sends out scouts to walk random paths in the vicinity of their nest. If a random walk ends at a desirable location, the scout will mark the return path with a chemical, and other ants will follow that path, reinforcing it with more of the chemical as long as they are rewarded with a food source. I've had ants that found a route to a large cherry tree by going up the wall of my house, out to the edge of a cantilevered, second story deck, then across about ten feet of thin wire to a branch near the top of the tree. This happened shortly after I applied Tanglefoot to the tree trunk.
